Sunday afternoon was a 50-something year old sports fan's dream. On the football gridiron, 40-year old Brett Favre and the 31-year old youngster, Drew Brees, were slinging footballs up and down the field in the NFC Championship Game, and on the golf course 60-year old Tom Watson and 50-year old Freddy Couples were shooting darts at the flagsticks at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii! I was wearing out the remote control.
The Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, the two best teams in the National Football Conference this year, were never separated by more than a touchdown and extra point. Favre led his team down the field for a touchdown and Brees answered. It was like an Ali-Frazier heavyweight championship fight. It was fitting that the game ended in overtime, although a Lou Groza look-a-like kicking the game-winning field goal would have been perfect.
The golf was even better! Two great champions playing like they were in their prime punching and counter-punching. It was like being in a time machine. Watson started the day up two strokes, but when they made the turn Couples was leading by one stroke. On the back nine, Watson birdied the first 3 holes and Couples eagled the 10th hole and birdied the 12th hole. Couples birdied the 16th hole for a one-stroke lead but Watson answered with a birdie of his own on No. 17 by sinking a 6-foot putt. Watson hit the ball into the light rough on the 18th hole and Couples bombed his drive down the middle of the fairway. Watson's second shot out of the rough from 147 yards stopped 5 feet from the hole. Couples hit his wedge to 15-feet from the hole but just missed the birdie putt and Watson sank the 5-footer for the win. Couples shot a final round 64 and Watson matched him stroke-for-stroke with a 65. Both players experienced problems with the putter late in their PGA careers, but today both made some great long putts and neither one of them missed a putt inside 10 feet.
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